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Division II championship dates

• 2015 women’s basketball: March 27, 28 and 30 at the Sanford Pentagon • 2016 women’s basketball: March 22, 23 and 25 at the Sanford Pentagon • 2016 wrestling: March 11 and 12 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center • 2016 women’s volleyball: Dec. 8-10 at the Sanford Pentagon • 2017 men’s basketball: March 22, 23 and 25 at the Sanford Pentagon • 2018 outdoor track and field: May 24 through 26 at the University of Sioux Falls Lillibridge Track and Field Complex • 2018 women’s basketball: March 27, 28 and 30 at the Sanford Pentagon • 2018 men’s basketball: March 28, 29 and 31 at the Sanford Pentagon

Women’s basketball:2015, 2016, 2018 at the Sanford Pentagon Wrestling: 2016 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center Women’s volleyball:2016 at the Sanford Pentagon Men’s basketball:2017, 2018 at the Sanford Pentagon Outdoor track and field:2018 at the University of Sioux Falls Lillibridge Track and Field Complex

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Sioux Falls will host eight NCAA tournaments in the coming years, bringing in sports fans and potentially millions of dollars in new business for the city.

The first of the tournaments comes in 2015, and in 2018, Sioux Falls will become the first city to host both the men’s and women’s Division II basketball championships. They’ll take place the same week at the Sanford Pentagon.

The city’s new public and private sports facilities helped bring the championships to town, said Wes Hall, executive director of the Sioux Falls Sports Authority. The health system-affiliated Pentagon opened for basketball and volleyball this fall at the Sanford Sports Complex. The city-owned Denny Sanford Premier Center, which will host wrestling championships in 2016, will open next fall.

The Sports Authority was in charge of bidding for the tournaments and selling the city.

Teri Schmidt, executive director of the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, helped by talking to NCAA leaders in Indianapolis about what Sioux Falls has to offer in terms of hotels, transportation and activities. Hosting the tournaments will do even more for the city in terms of economic growth, she said.

“This is one of those quality-of-life stars that we have to draw people here,” she said.

It will depend on attendance, she said, but the tournaments could mean millions of dollars in new business for the city during the next few years, she said.

The Sports Authority announced Wednesday that Sioux Falls will host several Division II NCAA championships:

■ Men’s basketball in 2017 and 2018 at the Sanford Pentagon;

■ Women’s basketball in 2015, 2016 and 2018 at the Pentagon;

■ Wrestling in 2016 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center;

■ Women’s volleyball in 2016 at the Pentagon; and

■ Outdoor track and field in 2018 at the University of Sioux Falls.

Augustana College will host two regional events in 2016. The Division II cross country regional will be held at Yankton Trail Park, and the Division II wrestling regionals will be at Augustana’s Elmen Center.

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“To get this many is a huge victory for us,” Hall said.

The NCAA received 1,984 bid applications this fall and announced host sites for 82 championships. The Sioux Falls Sports Authority tried for 19 events.

The city fell short on hosting any Division I events. The Sports Authority had hoped to bring regional volleyball and first- and second-round women’s basketball games to the Premier Center.

Sanford Health CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft has high hopes for the city hosting Division I events in the future and sees the lower level games at the Pentagon as a stepping stone.

“This is one more box to check in terms of what we’re trying to get done for Sioux Falls. We’re really proud that we’re getting this going, and the (Premier Center) could bring the Division I equivalent of what’s happening here,” he said.

The Pentagon, which is the new home for the NBA Development League Skyforce, will host the majority of the city’s NCAA events in the next five years. Sanford Sports Complex General Manager Eric Larsen said their goal has been to make the Pentagon a national facility, and hosting NCAA championships propels the facility more quickly.